The Washington County Board of Commissioners hasn't made much progress in deciding the details of a proposed vehicle-registration fee for road maintenance.

At a Tuesday, June 3, hearing on the issue, only two people testified. Both favor a fee.

The county is considering imposing the vehicle-registration fee to offset a $10.5 million shortfall in road maintenance.

The current version of the ordinance suggests a $30 annual fee for cars and $17 for motorcycles and mopeds. But on Tuesday, commissioners considered a $43 fee – the maximum allowed under state law.

The proposed amount, and whether the fee will be brought before voters in the November election, will be up for debate during a public work session at 8:30 a.m., June 10, at the Charles D. Cameron Public Services Building, 155 N. First Ave., Hillsboro. The board will have its final public hearing on the ordinance a week later, June 17, and likely make a decision.

The fee was first suggested by county staff in May 2013 as a means to address a growing shortfall in road maintenance. The county and other municipalities have seen a slowdown in gas tax revenues as residents turn to more fuel-efficient cars and other means of transportation.

Not keeping up with road maintenance is like putting off the dentist until you need a root canal, Land Use and Transportation Director Andrew Singelakis said Tuesday. Staff showed a video of some of the fee's supporters, including representatives of the Westside Economic Alliance and Tualatin Valley Fire & Rescue. The video stopped midway due to technical glitches.

Keith Peal of the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce told commissioners that the chamber supported a $43 vehicle-registration fee.

"If you don't do maintenance, you'll have to rebuild the roads," said Andrew Aebi, transportation project manager for the City of Portland, who testified next. He said costs associated with paving roads have more than doubled in the past 12 years.

Adopting the vehicle-registration fee is a matter of intergenerational equity, Aebi, a Beaverton resident, said. "We should not kick the can down the road."

Commissioners made very few comments. Next week, staff will present the results of a survey on how much people are willing to pay for road maintenance.

A $30 fee would fix most county roads, cover the shortfall in road maintenance, and guard against budget gaps in the next 15 to 20 years, according to staff. A $43 fee would expand on what the $30 fee covered to include repair work on one or two bridges a year. It also would provide funds for the county's Intelligent Transportation System.

Commissioners also have recently extended a 20 percent discount on the Transportation Development Tax, which is meant to offset new development's impact on the transportation system. Commissioner Dick Schouten said during a February meeting that voters might question the county's decision to extend the discount on the development tax while imposing the vehicle-registration fee.